Nana Patekar, the actor who could play a fearsome gangster and a comic don with equal conviction, has died at 75. The National Award-winning actor and Padma Shri recipient leaves behind a body of work that became a map of Hindi cinema’s changing moods.
Why the range matters
Patekar arrived when Hindi cinema was widening what a leading man could be. He was often the force that made the hero’s world dangerous or absurd, not the conventional hero himself. That position let him move from an Oscar-nominated ensemble to a National Award-winning lead and then to a scene-stealing comic part without appearing lost.
A career that refused one register
Patekar’s breakout in Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay! (1988) put him inside India’s second film to be nominated for an Oscar. As the drug dealer Baba, he embodied the darker reality of Mumbai’s red-light district. A year later, Parinda (1989) made him Anna, a ruthless ganglord who could also care for an autistic brother.
He directed and starred in Prahaar: The Final Attack (1991), playing an army officer who survives war only to meet enemies at home. Krantiveer (1994) earned him his first National Award, and its famous line “Aagaye meri mera maut ka tamasha dekhne?” still circulates on social media.
- Salaam Bombay! (1988): drug dealer Baba in Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated film.
- Parinda (1989): ganglord Anna.
- Prahaar (1991): directed and starred as an army officer.
- Tirangaa (1993): commercial blockbuster with Raaj Kumar.
- Krantiveer (1994): first National Award-winning performance.
- Ab Tak Chhappan (2004): encounter cop credited with 56 kills.
- Welcome (2007): comic don Uday Shetty.
- Natsamrat (2016): retired theatre actor who cannot leave the stage.
The unlikely comic turn
Until Welcome (2007), Patekar was largely known for intensity. As Uday Shetty, he found immense fame through comic timing and scene-stealing ease. The film, directed by Anees Bazmee, became one of the highlights of 2007 because of his turn alongside Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Anil Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.
Beyond the screen
Patekar’s public life extended beyond cinema. Through the NAAM Foundation, he supported drought-hit villages in Maharashtra. That work sat alongside the honours of multiple National Awards and the Padma Shri.
What remains
Two films starring Patekar, Eetha and Shakti Shalini, are set to release in the coming months, with Shraddha Kapoor and Aneet Padda in the lead respectively. For readers who treat Hindi cinema as a record, the task now is to revisit a career that moved from the margins of Salaam Bombay! to the mainstream comedy of Welcome without losing its force.
Source: ANI News
Comments